Marcin Gortat, a.k.a. The Polish Hammer, is one of this writer's favorite players since I'm a (dumb) Polack. 

The Dallas Mavericks appear to be in a very strong position to obtain his services, and by all accounts are close to offering him a mid-level offer.  Gortat is a restricted free agent, and the Magic will have seven days to match the offer if he signs an offer sheet with the Mavs. 

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the Magic will not match this offer if that is the case.  Even though the Magic are going to be fairly thin in their frontcourt with the departures of Hedo Turkoglu and Tony Battie, finding themselves paying the luxury tax because of their backup center is a move they appear unwilling to make. 

The only team that appears to stand in the Mavs' way of landing Gortat are the Rockets, who have a huge question mark in Yao Ming.  I wouldn't be surprised to see the Rockets step up their pursuit of the Hammer, now that Artest has gone and fans are still reeling from the Chuck Hayes at center experiment taking place in the last game of the Western Confernce Semifinals. 

If the Mavs can secure Gortat's services, they will likely be on the hook for just over $30 million over five years, or $25 million over four years.  That will be a bargain compared to the $63 million they paid Erick Dampier. 

        

Hedo Turkoglu will be a Portland Trailblazer next season, even if the story won't be broken for another couple of days or so. 

Today, he met with general manager Kevin Pritchard at the Portland International Airport, and gave his best (or worst) poker face when explaining his interest in joining the Blazers.

The Blazers started rookie Nicolas Batum at small forward for just under 20 minutes per game last season, and generally struggled to find a rhythm at the position, even if second-unit gunner Travis Outlaw did enjoy some success there.  Adding Turkoglu to the mix at small forward would put an already dangerous Blazers' squad on the short list of teams that can compete in the West with the Lakers, especially after the Lakers signed Ron Artest. 

While our report is pure speculation, it is difficult for us to believe that Pritchard would make Turkoglu's visit so public if he felt at all threatened that Turkoglu wouldn't sign.  Turkoglu, who may be offered more money by the Toronto Raptors, goes on to explain that he is considering more than the finances in his decision.  With Chris Bosh all but gone during the 2010 Summer of LeBron, and Jerry Colangelo staring down the barrel of a decimated roster, Turkoglu would be crazy to land in Canada and watch his next contract be his last (good one). 

        

Get your popcorn ready! 

As if tinsel town didn't have enough story lines, the Lakers might have punched the hottest ticket in town by landing Kobe's arch nemesis. 

Ron Artest is expected to agree to terms with the Lakers this afternoon, making the team's pursuit of Trevor Ariza all but over.

The idea of Ron Artest landing in Cleveland had the rest of the league looking towards 2011 for their title hopes, but now that focus will likely shift decidedly back to the reigning NBA champions. 

Meanwhile, Trevor Ariza is reportedly meeting with the Houston Rockets, and it's entirely possible he will go to whomever will pay him best.  If he's smart, he will realize that winning championships is the best leverage in contract negotiations, and he'll join the Witness Protection Program (a.k.a. Shaq) in Cleveland. 

        

Fresh off his first championship without big man Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant has chosen not to terminate the final two years of his contract and will remain with the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Next the Lakers will have to keep up with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics of the world by attempting to sign free agents Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza.

Ariza's agent has been running his mouth trying to drum up interest to as many teams that will listen, but it is unlikely that any team is going to pay more than a mid-level exception.  With Cleveland trying to acquire both Ariza and Ron Artest, the Lakers would be wise to start making Ariza feel more at home.  Ariza's decision to stay will likely come down to his personal tastes, and the Cavs might face too hard of a time convincing Ariza that he's the guy they really want when Ron Artest is that guy.  But if the Lakers balk, they might give their biggest competitor a huge break for what would amount to peanuts if he sticks a dagger in them in the Finals. 

And while many analysts have taken the easy route by assuming the Lakers would dispence of the older Odom, in favor of the younger, more athletic Ariza, we don't see it that way.  While we like Ariza, finding an athletic defender who can shoot the three is easier than finding a 6'10" big man that could conceivably run the point. 

If the Cavs acquire Ron Artest, we think the Lakers will need to keep both Odom and Ariza, to avoid being swept in a Finals matchup. 

        

What?  Nearly a year went by?  Now before you go assuming that I landed with the Hawaiian Tropic girls somewhere between Aspen and Lloyd Christmas' house, I was just writing for another site.  It was awesome.  I haven't run it by them to see if I can mention it on my tin-can and string blog-o-rama that is Pro Basketball Scoop, but I'll probably wait to mention it until I have the OK.  My guess is that they're not worried about little ol' me. 

They may or may not bring me back, but in any event watching the draft got me jones'n to feed the info to the masses.

So it will be done.  There's a lot going on with Stephen Curry and Amar'e Stoudemire, Ricky Rubio, and a plethera of big name trades—and we're just on day one after the draft. 

My initial thoughts are that the NBA will be a wide open race next year.  L.A. was far from unbeatable, Boston is aging, Cleveland's addition of Shaq hasn't grown on me yet, Orlando showed why they're not ready in the finals, Denver is on the way up, the Spurs added a nice piece in Jefferson, Houston is a question mark, and the bottom halves of both conferences' playoff qualifiers have some dark horses to make some noise.  There's good reason for up to a third of the league's G.M.'s to believe that they are a piece or two away from the Finals.  And with the economy being a wild card, it's safe to assume that the have's and have not's (on and off the court) will be courting one another in a way we haven't seen in some time. 

So strap on your seat belt, or snap into a Slim Jim, or whatever it is you do, it should be a wild ride. 

        

PBS, meet Mike Florio.  Mike Florio, PBS.

Well Mike now that you've met all 2 of our subscribers feel free to browse around.  I started PBS as something to do with my spare time but with an eye towards the distant future of being a mega-blog like PFT.  The whole endeavor has cost me $50 to date. 

You'll find PFT-inspired live blogs (during which it was incredibly hard to keep up with the action).  Mostly there are writeups of topics I found to be relevant as the NBA season progressed.  Because I was writing once per night (if lucky) I spent more time per article than I would if following the PFT format.  To be honest, sometimes the writing is bad but sometimes it hits it right on the head.    If I was running it for enterprise yet it would not be so choppy, bad, vulgar, etc.

Enjoy yourself and remember to sign up.

—PBS

        

Welcome to the best game of the round robin!

These teams don't like each other.  Kobe Bryant just floored his teammate Pau Gasol.  Lebron just bitched his defender who's trying to man him up and get under his skin.  The USA "D" is strong but Spain knows how to get to the rim.  Now that we've got Jason Kidd out of the game we can start to make some headway.  Either way, you've got 2 teams that want to murder each other (as I write Lebron just got his offensive foul, shortly after drawing one from Spain). 

Spain just dropped in Rubio and we just dropped in D-Wade, our MVP so far, and Wade steals the ball and goes in for the slam. 

In fact, I'm just going to go Brett Favre style stream of thought from here on out....that's the only way I can keep up with this.

—Chris Paul and Deron Williams are on the court now at the same time.  That's friggin awesome.

—2:44 and we've got a 20-13 lead. 

—Rubio is going to have to be the X-factor if Spain is going to win.  He's got the defense and imagination to inspire his teammates.  Him and Calderon in the backcourt can match us on their best day.

—Carmelo is the only USA player who is money from the 3 point line.

—USA is trying to knock Rubio around to intimidate him.  I like it.

—It's good to see that Marc Gasol might actually have some value in the NBA, somewhat (but not nearly) justifying the Memphis/L.A. trade sending his brother to the dark side.

—Paul just split 2 defenders on the break showing why everybody else sucks except for him.

—The USA defense is the star of the show.  They get a steal every 2-3 times on defense.  Whether or not they can hit a 3 seems to be irrelevant if they can just make you piss your pants.

—Rubio is going to have to learn something other than the back-tap form of defense if he's going to make it in the NBA.  Heck, he's going to have to learn it this game if they want to keep it within 20.

—Spain is not intimated taking it to the rim.  It's actually getting the ball from their dribble to the shooting position on non-drives where they lose their focus.

—10 turnovers for Spain in the first quarter.  USA leads 31 to 22 in a 10 minute quarter.  Imagine what would happen if somebody other than Carmelo could hit a shot (P.S. Jason Kidd still sucks).

—Reyes is playing well.  Spain's front line is actually playing bigger than ours at times (not that this is a surprise with Prince and Boozer as our backup centers.) 

—JAMES ALLEY OOP (that's odd).

—Rubio just picked James pretty embarrassingly.  That was after James punked the guy who's defending him (still trying to figure out his name, I'm an hour behind the game so I can't go online for fear of seeing the results).  Don't worry, I'll figure it out.

—Howard just used his forearm to the head of a Spain player.  Spain is doing a great job of baiting him.

—Kobe is a "little flying warrior" and Lebron is "The Little Emperor".

—Rudy Fernandez is NBA ready, it's scary to think that he's unaccounted for in terms of the Portland Trailblazers success last year (along with Oden).

—Kobe shoots the USA technicals.

—USA looks bad against the first look at zone coverage from Spain.  Gasol goes "and one" on the next possession over Chris Bosh (who missed the awkward shot against the zone). 

—Bosh and Howard have 2 fouls each at the 6:30 mark in the 2nd quarter.

—Lebron just hit his second 3 and has 14 points on 5 of 6 from the field.

—Fernandez just got an offensive foul against Bosh for what looked to be spooning.

—Kobe finally hits a 3, the US has a 14 point lead.

—Marc Gasol just got to the line drawing Kobe's 3rd foul (he's now out for the half).  Hey Spain, your center is getting covered by our shooting guard.  Go to hell.

—This zone looks to be bothering us, but how can you blame us, the court is so small.  They need to get Michael Redd into the game and Deron Williams too.  (Carmelo just buried a shot).  Those 3 could knock them out of the zone real quick.  Marc Gasol draws a foul on Anthony.

—Anthony just fouled the Spain's Rodriguez, the same guy that was getting under LeBron's skin.  The foul occurred on a made free throw by Spain.  Spain is definitely trying to play a dirty game, the US needs to keep their cool. 

—James to Wade for the dunk.  Screw you Spain.

—Rubio is back in.  Chris Paul gets the assignment .  Paul to D Williams, 3 point bucket. 

—Williams is playing like he's in Utah.

—Lebron threw it away, then so did Spain.  Lebron is getting chippy, and he looks like he's about to fight.

—Garbajosa nails a contested 3.  Coach K calls time.  USA up by 17.

—Next time the USA needs to add some inside presence other than Howard.  Nothing against Howard but there's not enough offense in him to keep him on the court all the time.

—Rubio connects with Fernandez on the alley oop.  Spain pressures and gets Paul to travel (it's not the NBA friend).

—Boozer just checked in with a minute to go.  Let's see how he fares. 

—Rubio is not intimidated at all against the greatest team in the world (and he's 17).  He's going to be a fine NBA player.

—Boozer update, just missed a close one.

—Spain is intent on pressing, which given the USA ballhandlers is interesting (and I don't know if I disagree with it).  The only way the win is if they turn this into a game of streetball.  Boozer missed another close one, but got the tip in a second later.

—USA leads by 16 at the half.  Normally that statement would be followed with something like "and USA isn't playing up to potential".  Well, they aren't'.  But neither is Spain.  This game is exactly 16 points apart until the US can show that they can take care of the ball (10 turnovers in the first half) and stop Spain defensively (I don't know what the points in the paint are but Spain is in there).

—Meatball Sandwich Break

—I guess the Chinese really like the super-fast version of C & C Music Factory's "Everybody Dance Now".

—-Holy moly Batman, I'm too tired to write anymore, time to just sit back and enjoy....

GO USA!


—

        

I scrambled to watch the China/USA game but slept through it since that's what I do (in all fairness I couldn't find the gametime anywhere, thanks NBC).  Pictures didn't do the game any justice as I heard afterwords that China played valiantly. 

I have to admit given the US team's past problems and being on China's turf I was a teeny bit nervous, but more amped up to kick some China ass.  Heck, after that opening ceremony I think I could have been fired up enough to be an effective Chinese guard (certainly more effective than they were versus Spain in the second half).

But I digress....

I have to admit that despite all of the reasons not to like China (human rights, communism, and potential rivalry with the U.S.) that I've been rooting for them ever since that game. 

Why you ask?  (I knew you would).  The reason is simple.  Yao Ming.  And while there are many storylines for this basketball tournament that are compelling and friggin' awesome, his is the most compelling.  Starting with the $300 Million Dollar opening ceremony where he stood front and center with the flag (and an entire country on his back), Yao has been the ultimate competitor and shown all of us a thing or two about loyalty to his homeland.  You see, he's just come off a knee injury that would have left so-called superstars from the USA that I'll leave nameless on the shelf.  But for Yao, this moment, and his country's moment, is bigger than himself.  This entire Olympics has been a coming-out party for the Chinese, and I it seems like the world is truly impressed.  At the center of it are China's gold medals and spectacular showcasing of this Olympiad, but literally and figuratively at the center of it is all 7'6" of Yao Ming, his hurt knee, his on the court rehab, and the emotion he is playing with that is literally "willing" his team to be competitive, when frankly they should not be.

Point in case, China's guards.  I'm pretty certain that in my prime I could have covered them.  That's not bad for the 24,534th ranked guard in the United States (remember, in my prime).  They're small, slow, bad shooters, bad decision makers, and bad defenders.  China has some talent at the 3 spot being shared by (don't want to see any updated scores online so rather than looking up the correct spelling I'll go with...) Ziu Ziu and some other guy who's played most of their games (how's that for analysis).  Then you have Yao and Yi rounding out the 5 and the 4, respectively.

It's Yi though that brought me to my feet for this most recent victory over Germany and Dirk (The Loser) Nowitzki.  Yi, frankly, has played like crap throughout the whole tournament.  This guy reminds me of one of my buddies (whattup Danny) in terms of body type, length, athleticism, skill-set, etc.  However, my buddy wouldn't stand around the court like it's his first time there.  So am I saying that my buddy should play for China, no, well, maybe, but more importantly I am saying that Yi single-handedly lost them their matchup against Spain because he couldn't guard Pao Gasol, who is neither quicker or stronger than him, just more crafty.  Yi looked like a deer in headlights on D, and even worse on offense as he picked up his dribble every time somebody looked in his general direction, which was a disaster since the guards couldn't shake the pressure from Spain to save their lives.  You see, Yi needed to step up both offensively and defensively, and while having the skills to do it, he either didn't have the focus or the courage to do it.  China lost in a heartbreaker which for most teams would have crushed their spirit.

Enter Yao Ming, and the China home court advantage.  In their game against Angola they bounced back, with Yao asserting himself as the team's physical and emotional leader.  Against Germany in a must win game, he picked up Yi Jianlian who performed like the top pick everyone expected him to be.  Yao was diving for loose balls, sprinting on the fast break, tugging his shorts from being distant from his ideal playing condition, and chest-bumping teammates after hustle plays.  Yi was all over the court on offense and defense, which had he done that against Spain we would be talking about the upset for years. 

In short, I became a Yao Ming fan for life.  He embodies everything that is great about basketball, the love for the game mixed with the edge that one gets when playing in the NBA.  It's almost as if you can hear the sweet sound of basketball ebonics coming out of his mouth but also tempered with 5,000 years of culture and self-respect.  He put his career on the line by coming back too fast, for his country, and if you're a Houston Rockets fan you might find that disconcerting, but outside of a career ending injury you can bet that your franchise center just grew exponentially overnight, as have the rest of the NBA players playing on this stage.  I haven't seen anything like this in my life, that is a competitive International tournament showcasing players playing for more than money, for national pride, and that is something we've not seen from the top of our basketball food chain, ever.

Tonight, I became a China fan, and for an American whose rooting against China in these games, it showed me how much the Olympics have transcended life this time around, and truly gives me hope that China's hospitality doesn't stop at the Olympic gates, and that a potential threat is truly a potential ally.

GO USA!

        

I once knew this center by the name of Shaquille
Body of a giant, hilariously real.

Alright, so I'm a white guy that can't rap but loves to get drunk and try anyway.  I once held a flow for a minute and honestly it ranks right up there with hitting the game-winning shot in an 8th grade CYO basketball game and striking out 16 in 7 innings of work in high school. 

So Shaquille O'Neal has now entered the national spotlight once more with this ridiculously hilarious freestyle bit about Kobe Bryant.  I've known a few people who can carry the flow better than Shaq, which means that Shaq isn't that good.  But funny, yes.  Frickin' hilarious, yes.  His diss on Kobe not winning and getting the entire crowd to chant "Kobe tell me how my ass tastes", repeatedly, must go on a short list in today's poliitically correct climate as being one of the single-most outrageous moments in recent years.  You have two former (unofficial) co-MVP teammates from a three-peat dynasty, both embroiled in huge controversy, involved in a soap opera spat sending Shaq packing, only to watch Kobe go to Denver assumedly (as Shaq puts it) smellin' some ass in one of the trials of the century.  You couldn't write this script in your wildest dreams. 

The beef was supposedly settled, and when asked for comment after tape of this show surfaced on on TMZ.com (the story is here) Shaq asked them to post a similar "song" he made about Vlade Divac during their playoff series with the Sacramento Kings, presumably to cushion the blow of this hitting the blogosphere (Vlade when reached for comment had this to say).  He has also said that he's cool with Kobe.

Somehow I don't think the feeling will be mutual.

        

Game 6 is here.  Grab your popcorn and stock the fridge with beer.  This is not the greatest series ever, but these teams are about as closely contested as they come.  You've read my analysis of Phil Jackson's lineup decisions and as you might imagine he has decided to ignore all of them.  That's OK.  That's why I write and he coaches.  We'll see how it goes for him and the Lakers.

The first 6 minutes of the game have been a roller coaster.  Kobe has gone for 11 points hitting 3 "3's".  Rondo has started hot on the defensive end, sparking his offense.  Bodies are flying everywhere.  I guess it's a Boston tempo, but you can't be sure.  Gasol has hit the ground no less than 5 times already and can't post up Paul Pierce.  If that is the case then it's over for the Lakes (think Bruce Bowen on Dirk Novitski).  Ray Allen just went to the locker room, we'll see what that's all about.  The game has far from settled.

3:30, Qtr 1: There are so many unspectacular players in this series.  Rondo just took it to the hole without a plan in mind.  Walton just took it baseline without a plan in mind.  Odom took that pass and passed on a wide open 3.  Garnett just hit a jumper, looks like he won't be going inside any time soon.  Check that, he got the ball in the middle of the key and faded away to just inside the 3 point line and buried it.  I guess if you're capable of doing that then who needs a drop-step anyway.

2:00, Qtr 1: Allen is still in the training room.  Farmar just dribbled off his foot out of bounds.  Alley oop to Garnett.  Kobe missed a driving layup.  They need to silence this crowd and make them nervous like San Antonio did to the Hornets.  This is a sloppy game.  The Celts just threw away an inbounds pass to KG.  You can tell that both teams haven't played on this stage before (sans Kobe). 

1:00, Qtr 1: It's 19-22 Boston after Farmar hits the first of 2 throws (made 2nd).  The longer the Lakes hang around the more pressure will accumulate on Boston (Pierce hits jumper).  2 for 1 possibility, Bryant with the ball, he doesn't go for it until too late (missed 3).  Celts hold for final shot, Pierce in a 4x1 set.  Lakers had a foul to give and got them with 1.8, smart move.  Powe missed the final shot after taking too long to get it off.  10 points for KG, 11 points for KB, 24-20 Boston.  I'm calling an even game so far, however, here's the things that I've noticed:

• Gasol is not ready to play. 
• Odom is not ready to play.
• Rajon Rondo is active on defense and offense, but still out of control.
• Garnett's shot is on.
• Paul Pierce is making shots but not the focal point of the game.
• Kobe looks ready to take the game into his own hands.
• Radmonovich hasn't been called except for the PA announcer before the game.
• The moment looks too big for Farmar.
• Sasha has been kept off of the court (same goes for Turiaf).

Advantage: Boston

Start of Qtr 2: Gasol starts on the bench.  Farmar starts the second.  Turiaf is FINALLY in the game.  Pierce throws it away.  Sasha is in as well with Bryant and Odom.  Boston has House, Posey (wait, Turiaf drew a loose ball foul on Boston), P.J. Brown, Big Baby just came in for P.J. (to match Turiaf), Powe, and Perkins.  So it's the battle of the scrubs but the Lakers have Odom and Kobe in (who probably will play the whole game).  Evenly fought so far, but watch for the Lakers to make a push.  If you see Turiaf spark an L.A. rally I'll probably throw something at the T.V.

10:00, Qtr 2: Doc Rivers just grabbed a tech.  That could be huge down the stretch for Doc's ability to put pressure on the refs.  It certainly can't be good for Boston's psyche in terms of stability.  Pierce silences that thought with a rattle-me-home 3 and Sasha misses on the other end (who shot him with confidence-juice during these playoffs?).  L.A. missed a great opportunity to capitalize on momentum.  Powe misses a 16 foot set shot.  Odom takes it aggressively to the basket and draws a foul.  This bodes well for Lakers fans.  I'm surprised KG is still out of the game.  Look at this part of the film if L.A. makes a push here and ultimately wins the game.  The Boston team on the floor couldn't win a rec league game in some cities.  As I write this Powe makes a transition layup.  Boston by 5.  House is fouled by Farmar going into a T.V. break.  I imagine the first team's come back out.  I wonder if Turiaf will be with them or if Radmonovich gets another chance.

8:08, Qtr 2: Ray-Ray is still in the Sick-Bay (OK, I will NEVER do that again).  Boston has a healthy 6 point lead without having played their best.  L.A. starts with Kobe, Fisher, Sasha, Gasol, and TURIAF (haha).  Boston works with Powe, Posey, Pierce, House, and Big Baby.  KG is checking in for Pierce.  Now it's on (minus Ray Ray).  Bad rebounding by the Lakers leads to a 3rd chance opportunity for Boston which House ultimately cans for a 3.  Sasha screws the pooch by turning it over, and House makes them pay on the other end for 3 again.  Sasha is mixed up defensively.  Him and Farmar better do a ro-sham-bo to see who shows up this game because one of them needs to OR Fisher needs to play the whole game (not a good option).  T.V. time out, Boston by 9.  It's now or never for the Lake Show, they need to put the fear of doubt into both the Celtics or the crowd, or the game will be in Boston's favor come the last 2 minutes.

6:30, Qtr 2: Starting five for the Lakers back in.  Pierce drives into the lane and passes up an open layup...so goes the NBA finals.  Just after the recently hot Michele Tafoya reports trouble for Ray Ray he runs out of the tunnel to a raucous ovation.  I doubt the Lakers or the Boston fans will be fazed either way about that given the Paul Pierce episode.  Although it would be cool to hear a chant of "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus".  Kobe just lost the ball off the dribble and in transition Posey just nailed a 3.  Welcome to nail #1 of 3 in the coffin.  Time out Phil Jackson.

3:30, Qtr 2: Boston has pushed a 13 point lead.  They are outclassing L.A. in every phase of the game.  If this keeps up I'm going to stop writing.

End of Half: Boston finishes on a 26-6 run.  The Lakers go into the locker room down by 23.  It's safe to say that if the Laker win this game that they will win game 7.  So that's the challenge that's been laid down by fate, circumstance, and the Boston Celtics dominating first half.  I'm not going to write until this becomes a game, because I'm sure ya'll don't care one way or another until it does.

Halftime Observations:

• This is going to go down as a gimme in championship competition.  Why?  I don't think the Celtics could have beaten the Hornets, Spurs, Pistons, Cavs, or Rockets right now. 
• Kobe is by himself.  Any comparison to him and Michael is completely unfair.  Michael had Scottie and Kobe has a bunch of Eurotrash that would get their asses kicked at the local cinema 6 unless they had Rony with them.
• The Celtics have the defense necessary to win a championship.  Offense?  No.  But their defense (led by Rondo) is particularly beguiling (yeah, I said beguiling, it's a big word and I like to sound classy...shutup).
• If any team is primed for a 20 point meltdown on their home floor it is the Celtics.  Likely no, surprising no. 
• Jackson is reportedly angry with his team.  If I were on his team I'd ask him if nailing the Lakers Jeannie Buss had anything to do with his lack of a game plan.  It's amazing how coaches get a free ride for mailing it in when players who work out everyday to stay in shape get nailed for it when it's not true.

Onto the 2nd Half:

12:00, 3rd Qtr:  Rondo nails a jump shot confident when up by 23....that's going to be "not good" for the Lakers.  The Lakers need to put their "toughs" into the game to claw back into this.  The Lakers were down by 24 in Game 2 and the Celtics obviously came back in Game 5.  It's wishful thinking on my part but at least there's precedent.  Allen just nailed a 3 after Rondo misses what should be an open take.  Radmonovich nails the coffin in my assessment that he sucks, and so does Jackson's decision making by bricking another 3.  Rondo travels though and leaves the small door open.

10:24, 3rd Qtr:  Fisher can't connect.  Celtics continue to push the tempo.  Rondo can't make anything consistently, hence his downfall as an NBA point guard.  Fisher goes "and 1" with the foul shot upcoming.  Van Gundy calls out a potential Laker defense and temporarily I believe that he is a good color guy (my brain expunges the alcohol required to watch this game and I resume taking part in reality.)   Pierce just took a prayer drive and made it (somebody stop that guy for the sake of television rankings).  Gasol passes a 10 footer on the other end while Sasha took a swing pass and drained the three.  Rondo took all of his confidence with him to the rim for an and-one and makes the throw (this is the penalty you pay for letting him get his rocks off on D). 

8:05, 3rd Qtr: Van Gundy just highlighted that L.A. has a very good defensive team, outside of Radmonovich.  Rondo steals and in transition finds Ray Allen with announcer whateverhisname is saying "Celtics embarrassing the Lakers!"  Where is Marv Albert when you need him.  This is what happens when a weak Kobe Bryant collides with a smug Phil Jackson.  I think all of the aforementioned teams could have competed better than the Lakers....so much for Western Conference dominance.  For all the Rondo fans out there, you are validated.  His on-ball defense (see earlier post) has proven to be a difference maker.  Bryant just shot a fadeaway 20 footer and bricked, desperacy is in the air.

6:25, 3rd Qtr: I'm going to begin to write on tangents.  The game is no longer important now until the Lakers can get it under 10 (which I think they have a shot at).  For all the Laker love given by the media, they look like a J.V. basketball team.  Gasol just got given an entry pass in the sweet spot in the middle of the key and couldn't come to the ball.  It looks like the defensive coaching of Tiberot is showing itself.  He's clearly instructed his guys to attack the entry pass at the expense of position and Gasol won't make them pay.  He's used to getting the ball in Memphis where nobody cares.  For all the pundits that have given the Lakes multiple championships in the next few years they may want to re-evaluate Gasol's toughness and willingness to learn.  He clearly can't establish himself in the post when the defense is at a "finals" level.  T.V. timeout.

After an entire year I just realized that the NBA "cares".  I wonder if they care about point shaving.

5:57, 3rd Qtr:  A 30 point game.  This thing is done.  Does anybody wonder if this is poetic justice for Kobe Bryant?  As I write he misses a fadeaway 18 footer.  After getting a rare stop Gasol gets tied up by Garnett when he has position for a jump ball.  I wonder who will win this one.  Radmonovich makes his 2nd "3" of the third quarter, maybe Phil will start him for another 5 years.  Rondo tips in a KG miss, amazing.  Does he have flaws in his game yes, but on this team, no.

4:30, 3rd Qtr: Kobe tips in a miss.  If this lead remains at 30 after the 3rd and the Lakers win I will officially give up basketball writing.  Odom with timeliness drives and jumps into the air only to throw the ball to the Celtics.  This game is getting difficult to watch.  The only thing that drives me to write is that I can't get it through my thick skull why Boston is destroying them.  I'll say defense is the answer but for me it comes down to the Lakers inability to compete.  Gasol just actually "manned up" and grabbed a defensive rebound when challenged by players inches shorter than him, good for him.

3:25, 3rd Qtr: I think every team in the Western Conference is punching walls in their homes right now knowing that they could have beat this Celtics team.  Radmonovich takes a transition 3 with nobody under the hoop and gets bailed out by Ray Ray touching the ball before it goes out of bounds.  T.V. timeout.

2:45, 3rd Qtr: Gasol gets the inbounds pass, loses his footing, and passes it to a white jersey.  Pierce misses a step back 3 and Kobe grabs the rebound and promptly gets it stolen by....who....Rondo (6th steal of the game).  Kobe takes the rock strong to knock it down to 29.  L.A. gets a stop and Kobe takes the ball to the rack to get to the foul line.  I'm guessing that L.A. is going to make a move in the offseason to get another player with toughness regardless of the price and/or smartness of the deal.  The Celtics have gone into time-wasting mode.  The sad part is that the could do this for the rest of the game and probably win no matter how bad they play.  Rondo just made a driving layup.  The Celtics need to score no less than 20 points from hereon out to win this game.  P.J. Brown just got a great steal and now it's almost over.  He scores on the other end to put it back to 29.  Final seconds of the 3rd, Kobe shoots a fadeaway from 18 feet that falls short.  You have to wonder if he's been injured at all for these last 2 series.  He just doesn't seem to have the first step that we're all accustomed to.  End of quarter.

Observations after 3 quarters:

• The Lakers have been outclassed on defense and loose balls.
• Like the NCAA tournament, guard-play seems to determine who wins and who loses.  Farmer, Sasha, and Fisher have been completely outplayed by Rondo and Ray Allen.
• Kobe doesn't trust his team.  Give him credit for taking an entire season and training them to succeed.  But when the rubber meets the road they can't get it done, no matter how much artificial confidence Kobe and Phil have put into them.
• Gasol is soft and might be the best single-reason this game is as lopsided as it is.
• Jackson should have played Turiaf through the whole game.  His toughness is what the Lakers lack on the defensive end.  On the offensive end, Odom's number should have been called out but I understand why it wasn't.

Start of 4th: Turiaf lands on the court.  I wonder if Jeannie text-messaged Phil and demanded that with threat of no fun-time.  Kobe and Gasol are on the bench.  The Celts are certainly going to be play slow, we'll see what happens.  Ariza enters the game and is quickly in the right spot at the right time getting to the foul line on a pass from Turiaf.  One has to wonder if the second squad can scrap them into a position to put SOME pressure on the Celts.  Sasha throws the ball away and Rondo took the ball to the hoop on the other end drawing a flagrant foul.  As if it was in question, put this one into the books.  That flagrant was a bad call, he was barely touched.

10:44, Qtr 4:  Rondo is on the line having scored 20 points.  If you told me that before the game I would have bet the entire house on the Celtics.  Despite all of the Celtics shortcomings they play like a team and that fact is evident in their victory.  Phil sits on the bench looking like he just got fooled in a 3-card monty game.  They should just institute the 10 run rule and give the Celtics the game as the rest of the Boston-hating universe has to watch this crap (I don't hate Boston...just their fans).  Farmar hits a 3, but too bad Ray Ray hits one on the other side (as Sasha screws up on defense AGAIN).  So much for Allen's decline.  This performance in the finals solidifies a spot in the Hall of Fame even though there will be detractors from that comment...a championship does wonders unless you're "Big Shot Bob".  As I write Allen hits another 3.  Jackson takes a timeout and I wonder if he'll take the time to appropriately apologize to his team for the psychological restructuring of their mental psyches he's undertaken when he didn't evaluate himself in quid pro cro. 

7:42, Qtr 4:  I got distracted by a girl with huge knockers so my apologies.  This game sucks.  So do the Lakers.  Maybe the NBA should institute a rule where if the losing team goes 4 on 5 their points are worth more.  Then again, maybe the Lakers should actually bring their balls to the Finals.  The worst thing about this is knowing that Boston fans have more to crow about.  I usually hate the Lakers, but this seems to be worse.  I might actually punch the next Boston fan I see without giving a reason.  It's party mode in the TD Banknorth whatever the hell the stadium name is.  I hate this outcome.

5:24, Qtr 4:  Ray Ray just hit his 7th 3 pointer of the game tying an NBA record.  Odom got fouled and things are getting chippy.  It's about time the Lakers showed some life.  It's just a matter of the clock winding down at this point.  Is there some rich guy in Boston who won a bet with all the other rich guys and paid the NBA to have Boston win?  I don't want to take anyway from Boston, but I just did.  They deserve the championship and I like their players.  BUT, and this is a big BUT, they could barely handle Cleveland, who was manhandled by most of the league all year long.  I know the playoffs are a different story and matchups usually determine what team beats whom, but I don't see Boston beating San Antonio or even Phoenix.  I think New Orleans would have a chance.  I even think that Golden State could have matched them position for position.  That's just the way it goes I suppose but I think that L.A. lost this series as much as Boston has won it.  Nevertheless, you have to give Boston their props for winning the games that matter, and for that they are the champions.

5:00, Qtr 4:  "Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Hey-Heeey-Hey, Good-Bye"  The Celtics crowd throws extra sauce on the drubbing.  That will be remembered for years.

4:30, Qtr 4: 116-81.  Ugly. The "na-na" chant is something that I haven't heard in my lifetime and is something that should be cherished for years.  When a team loses this bad under this much rivalry pressure they deserve to be embarrassed like that.  The Boston starters just got pulled out and a cameraman just got thrown by Joey Crawford, it's the most defense that's been played on behalf of the Lakers all night long.

3:29, Qtr 4:  The celebration has begun on the sidelines.  Rivers is emotional hugging his guys.  The Celtics can't help but celebrate.  It's not as professional as our P.C. society has begun but how can you hate on these guys?  They deserve it.  They won the Finals.  They played like a team.  They are waiting in desperation for the final ticks to go down.  Anybody who has played any competitive sports knows what this is.  The lead is at 35 and Kobe just missed a 3.  The refs are concentrating on keeping the game civil.  Posey just drained a 3.  This is painful for the Lakers, but nobody in America cares.

2:21, Qtr 4:  There is a full-fledged celebration on the sidelines and I can't remember when I've seen this so early in the 4th.  This won't be taken lightly by Kobe or the Lakers organization.  Of course, you can't blame them.  This is what all of us dream of, winning the NBA championship.  If the Lakers didn't want to be shown up on the sidelines then maybe they would have come within 20 points of victory.  30+ points means that no matter what the Celtics do they are GOING TO WIN THE GAME.  Therefore they get to enjoy their hard-earned championship before the end of regulation, and you can bet there's going to be one helluva hard-earned celebration. 

Predictions:

• Paul Pierce is the MVP.
• Rajon Rondo is the player of the game.
• Kobe Bryant gets blamed for everything.

Again 2:21 in the 4th:  Garbage-time.  Paul Pierce is being talked about being "in the rafters" and I have to say that he will get in, but he's lucky.  He's been a cancer on the ball-court his whole career and now he gets lucky with a Lakers choke.  But good for him, in the grand-scheme of things he out-accomplished millions of basketball players in the entire world to get there.  We sometimes lose perspective when players can't "get it done" against other world-class athletes.  He is lucky, but he is good, and it is better to be lucky, and also good.

1:52, 4th Qtr:  Big Baby just threw down a dunk.  Why not hand each Celtics fan a bottle of Dom Perignon?  Eddie House just dunked, the city WILL BE TURNED UPSIDE DOWN.  I wonder if Doc will clear the bench.  He should.  The Lakers should be ashamed of themselves turning in this effort.  They've given up, and that is a reflection of their coach and their star player.  Kobe, Michael Jordan you are not, you have his skill but not his heart.  I do think that the celebration on the side of the court is going to hurt these Celtics in later games.  It is a bit uncalled for, understandable, but uncalled for.  You wouldn't see a Phil Jackson team do that, if it is any consolation for how bad he has coached and how bad the Lakers have played.

You can tell how much Doc Rivers is loved on the sidelines.  He has made some bone-headed moves but winning cures everything.  The big 3 are in a place that only champions know.  The clock is about to run out and I'm getting goose bumps.  If only all of us could experience this.

I want to thank all of you for your support during this NBA season.  It is a pleasure to write for you all and I can't wait until we do it again (starting tomorrow).  Good luck in everything that you do and take care!

—Bruski